Simone Margaret Senogles, beloved wife, daughter, sister, mother, auntie, and friend, passed away in Bemidji, Minnesota, on Saturday, September 20, 2025. She was 54.
Traditional Services were held at 10 am on Friday, September 26, 2025, at the new Red Lake Center in Red Lake with spiritual leader Naabek Liberty. A wake began at 6 pm on Thursday, September 25, at the new Red Lake Center and will continue until the time of the services. Interment is at the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Red Lake, MN, under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji. Born into the Migizi (Eagle) clan, Simone carried the names Chinoodinikwé and Miskomakwakwe, and lived those names with quiet strength and fierce purpose. A steadfast spirit and fearless advocate, Simone dedicated her life to the well-being of her people and the protection of the land.
She worked with the Indigenous Environmental Network for over 25 years in various capacities, each dedicated to the mission of protecting Mother Earth and supporting frontline peoples who are leading the way. Among the many contributions to the community she made through IEN, Simone was an educator on the local impact of toxic chemicals. She also spearheaded the organization’s efforts in food sovereignty. She wrote and directed “Regaining Food Sovereignty,” a documentary that explored the state of food systems in some Northern Minnesota Native communities, featuring the Red Lake Nation.
Simone poured her life into uplifting Indigenous women, protecting sacred lands, and confronting environmental injustice. She carried the grief and strength of her people and turned it into movement work. A lifelong activist, as a teenager, worked for Northland Poster Collective in South Minneapolis, a political artist collective that printed and distributed movement posters. She was a founding member of the MMIW 218, a grassroots group dedicated to addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in her home territories. She served on the governing board of Grassroots Global Justice, an alliance of organizations representing working and poor people, as well as communities of color. She championed the principles of organizing by helping create the first Indigenous Feminist Organizing school in the US, as well as its international counterpart. She was a fierce advocate for land stewardship and a passionate beekeeper.
Simone’s cultural gifts and artistic skills were as boundless as her love for her people. She was a prolific Anishinaabe artist who could sew, weave, bead, quill, craft with birch bark, and tend bees. Among her many master works were a birchbark canoe, traditional woven cedar mats, and the beaded moccasins Leonard Peltier wore upon his release from incarceration. She possessed a seemingly endless capacity to learn, and she loved to master new skills. She was also generous with her knowledge, teaching and inspiring countless others to connect with Anishinaabe lifeways and their local ecosystems. Friends and family remember her wry humor, adventurous spirit, and the way her laughter could crinkle the corners of her eyes. She welcomed everyone –family, colleagues, neighbors–into her circle with warmth and care, hosting relatives, nurturing young leaders, and mentoring generations of activists and feminists.
Click here to read the Bemidji Pioneer’s Tribute to Simone.
Image at right: Simone Senogles, 54, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Bemidji. She served as a founding member of MMIW 218 and operations director for the Indigenous Environmental Network. Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer
Her impact was as personal as it was global. To her loved ones, she was a steadfast source of comfort, always ready to listen, offer support, and be a safe place in times of hardship. To her colleagues, she was a stalwart strategist and dedicated organizer. To her community, she was a steady presence, a protector, and a leader who demonstrated the critical importance of showing up when your people need you.
She is survived by her child, Cedar; husband, Scott Anderson; stepchildren Seth Anderson and Paige Anderson; mother Renee Gurneau; father Tom BK Goldtooth; sister Anna (Jamison) Goldtooth and niece Ziibiins, all of Bemidji; brother Migizi (April) Pensoneau, of Los Angeles; siblings Adriana, Charles, Maria, Byron, Dallas, Grace, Georgina, Glenford, and Columbia; auntie Rochelle (Mitchell), Wee’eh Petra, cousins Ogema, and Sonny; numerous nieces and nephews, and her beloved feline companion George.
Simone was preceded in death by her sister Monica Goldtooth; beloved uncles Bradley, Leigh, and Neil; and grandmother Margaret Gurneau.
Simone’s family asks that those who loved her honor her memory by carrying forward the work she championed: Protecting Mother Earth, Defending Indigenous Rights, and nurturing community above all else.
Rest in power, Simone. Your light, laughter, and love will continue to guide us.
The pallbearers: Dallas Goldtooth, Ogema Neadeau, Chris Peltier, Migizi Pensoneau, Cedar Senogles, and Seth Anderson.
Honorary pallbearers are: Bineshi Albert, William Bush, Claire Charlo, Marty Cobenais, Byron Goldtooth, Jamison King, Ricardo, Lisa Weiskopf, Alice Blessing, Wenona Kingbird, Levins Morales, MMIW218 Tamika Jo Andy, Audrianna Goodwin, Natasha Kingbird, Waagoshens Steeprock.
Click here to read more heartfelt tributes from family and friends…
Simone and her buddy, the Ginger Cat George…
